This year the International Labor Organisation (ILO) has set the theme of the day as “Hazardous Child Labour”. The day is aimed at provision of a global spotlight on hazardous child labour, and call for urgent action to tackle the problem.
The ILO launched the first World Day against Child Labour in 2002 as a way to highlight the plight of labourer children. The day, which is observed on June 12 every year, is intended to serve as a catalyst for the growing worldwide movement against child labour, reflected in a number of ratifications of ILO Convention No 182 on the worst forms of child labour and ILO Convention No 138 on the minimum age for employment.
The ILO’s most recent global estimate is that 115 million children are involved in hazardous work. This is work that by its nature or the circumstances, in which it is carried out, is likely to harm children’s health, safety or morals. Children working in many different industries and occupations can be exposed to such risks and the problem is global, affecting industrialized as well as developing countries.
The government of Pakistan ratified the ILO Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour (182) in August 2001 and is obligated to take steps to remove children from these occupations. A first step would be to include the national list of hazardous forms of child labour for Pakistan under the schedule of occupations in which the employment of children is prohibited under the Employment of Children Act 1991.According to a survey, 3.3 million child labourers are involved in economic activities in the country both in formal and informal sectors including factories, football industry, printing industry, agriculture beside beggary.
The activists working for the rights of children said that the government was not serious to take positive steps to eradicate the menace.
Sahiba Irfan of the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) said government had not taken any concrete step to implement the Convention on the Rights of the Children (CRC) in the country in letter and spirit. She demanded of the government to accelerate actions for children.
Iftikhar of SAHIL said that the government should show commitment and come up with effective steps for improving the state of children rights in the country, and enforce a ban on hazardous occupations under the Employment of Children Act 1991.
He said education was very basic right of a child and the government was responsible to provide equal education facilities to the children. But unfortunately, he added, the rulers had no attention on the problems faced by a layman while their own children were studding abroad.
Talking on the causes of child labour, he said poverty and illiteracy were the main reasons behind the day by day souring issue.
